Playing politically correct

George Clooney is in a political quandary. He doesn8217;t know how to support his friend Barack Obama in the US presidential elections.

George Clooney can8217;t decide what role he8217;d like to play. This has nothing to do with his flourishing movie career and everything to do with the 2008 presidential campaign. The actor recently said in an interview that he would love to throw himself into campaigning for his friend, Senator Barack Obama, a politician he compares to John F. Kennedy.

But Clooney is too shrewd a political observer to discount the negative impact a celebrity can have on a campaign. At the moment, Clooney is waiting to see if he can play a part without becoming a distracting sideshow. His quandary is a measure of Hollywood8217;s growing political sophistication; celebs now understand that their support can be a double-edged sword.

So when Obama told Clooney last year that he was thinking about running for president, the actor was excited but cautious. 8220;I told him I would do anything for him, including staying completely away from him,8221; said Clooney, speaking recently on his cellphone.

Obama, however, welcomed Clooney8217;s involvement and support. They met two years ago while attending a rally to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur and have stayed in touch since. When asked about Clooney at a recent event, Obama broke into a smile, gestured expressively and said simply: 8220;He8217;s a good friend.8221;

There8217;s a kind of nostalgia that runs through Clooney8217;s politics. Anybody who saw his 2005 film, Good Night and Good Luck, has a notion of where his sentiments run. Though he was only a boy growing up in Kentucky when Kennedy was assassinated, he looks back on that era with a sense of political idealism. He8217;s friends with the Clintons. He knows Senator John McCain. He admires Al Gore. But Obama, clearly, dazzled him.

8220;We were at a rally on Darfur,8221; Clooney said. 8220;All of a sudden, Obama walks out and steps on to the stage. Everyone stopped to hear what he had to say. I8217;ve never been around anyone who can literally take someone8217;s breath away. Everyone says the country isn8217;t ready for a black president. I think that8217;s ridiculous.8221;

Despite his caution, a national campaign would be hard for Clooney to sit out. Like others in entertainment, he is trying to figure out how to write a political part that will get good reviews in Middle America.

Tina Daunt